The British National Party will support the right of Scotland to have a referendum on independence, even though the party is opposed to independence per se, said Nick Griffin MEP.

Speaking after a packed out meeting to officially launch the BNP’s by-election campaign in Glasgow, Mr Griffin said that he supported the call for an independence referendum.

“We will oppose (independence) because we think overall it will be bad for Scotland and the United Kingdom. But if the Scots choose it then they are entitled to have it,” Mr Griffin said.

It was standing room only at a packed meeting for the official launch of the Glasgow by-election campaign at a plush hotel in Glasgow City centre on Tuesday night, reports our Scottish correspondent.

More than 80 members and supporters filled the room with members of the press in attendance to hear Mr Griffin, BNP Scottish leader Gary Raikes and candidate Charles Baillie speak.

Mr Raikes talked about election strategy in Scotland and of how important it was for supporters to take an active part in the campaign.

Mr Baillie provided a round-up of the campaign’s progress. Mr Griffin then spoke and a collection afterwards raised £890 for the campaign.

Mr Griffin then went live on a local radio station for nearly two hours the next morning, and conducted numerous media interviews.

Mr Griffin told the radio show that the BNP hoped to gain ground in Scotland and the main aim of contesting the Glasgow North East by-election was to build on the party’s profile before the next Holyrood elections in 2011.

“We were 4.4 percent in Glasgow North East in the European elections,” Mr Griffin said. “We are going to be running a better campaign and there is a lot of public interest and sympathy for us so I think it is realistic.

“In Glasgow there is a [Holyrood] seat to be taken with probably about 6.5 percent of the vote and we believe that is a do-able thing.”

The next stop on his tour was to visit the FEBA centre for ex-veterans. Some BNP members been involved with helping that organisation and Mr Griffin was able to speak to a number of veterans. He later described their accounts as “harrowing.”

Mr Griffin also spent some time with FEBA founder Mr Tommy Moffat. Many ideas for helping FEBA further were discussed which will likely come to fruition within the next few months.

Mr Griffin said he planned to continue supporting veterans. “If the generals want to be involved in politics for the British Isles, then all they have to do is come out openly and say that how the Government treats our ex-servicemen is a disgrace,” he said.

He also pledged to set up a support network for FEBA if it did not find the £100,000-a-year funding it needed over the next five years. “They are doing wonderful, important work here and they need recognition from the Scottish government,” he said.

Mr Moffat stressed that he was not a BNP member and said that FEBA was a non-political organisation.